10:47 PM,
Mar. 5, 2013

A television screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange banners a record high for the Dow Jones industrial average, Tuesday.

Written by

Adam Shell
USA TODAY

Break out the rally caps. Uncork the Champagne. Rejoice in rising 401(k) balances. The Dow is at a new record high.

The Dow Jones industrial average rewrote history on Tuesday, barreling through its 2007 high on its way to a fresh closing peak of 14,253.77. The iconic 117-year-old stock index's powerful, unexpected and lengthy bull run puts an exclamation point, and perhaps some closure, on one of the most turbulent periods in Wall Street history.

Home to All-American blue-chip companies, such as IBM, Coca-Cola and McDonald's, the Dow did what few thought possible at the depths of the ...